Proper Education
by Little Lost Girl
Summary: Modern day AU. Meet Kenshin Himura, new teacher in Tokyo. Meet Sanosuke Sagara, high school student and rebel without a cause. Enter Mistaken Identity. Watch Fate mess with everyone. Includes shounen-ai and het!


_Author's Note: My first chapter! ^^ AU, and the idea just wouldn't leave me alone, so here it is. Do be warned that this contains both **shounen-ai **and **het** if either bothers you, you probably shouldn't read this. Constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged, please tell me what I'm doing wrong! =)_

_Disclaimer: Unfortunately, __Rurouni Kenshin doesn't belong to me, but __Watsuki Nobuhiro. I'm just having a bit of fun, the characters will be returned unscathed (more or less)._

Proper Education

Chapter One: Mistaken Identity, Meet Fate

The sun wobbled lazily into the sky.  It poured its rays through Kenshin Himura's blinds. He blinked against the brightness and rolled lazily over, his chest bare and smooth, muscled but still boyish.  Light still bombarded his eyes; he lobbed an arm over his face in defense.

With an acquiescent sigh he got out of bed, bare feet plodding along the wooden flooring of his studio apartment. He rolled his shoulders and managed to move gracefully even in his state of half-sleep. 

For breakfast, he had nothing more than a slice of buttered toast and a glass of water. He sat on the floor to read the paper; red hair framing his face like a dragon's breath. It caught the sunlight and flickered prettily against it. 

With one tiny sigh he set the paper carefully on top of a stack high with old papers from the previous week that he had yet to recycle, and licked a crumb of toast from his thumb. Then he went to prepare. Today was certain to be a difficult; he'd just come to Tokyo from Kyoto and was about to begin his new job.

Kenshin was a teacher now. A high school teacher if you were looking to be exact. He splashed water on his face from a silver basin and looked at his reflection in the mirror.

He was pale, with little violet circles beneath his amethyst eyes. His hair was well washed and had slight but implacable, pleasant aroma about it; it lay flat when he tucked into a tail with single crimson ribbon. With a tight smile at his reflection, he left to his new life.

~*~*~

Sanosuke Sagara was not having a good day. That was quite the understatement, considering. First his mother had gone on a rampage the previous evening denouncing any motherly duty and storming off from their small apartment. She had not come back yet, but this did not really worry Sano; he didn't care either way, the old hag. 

What did worry Sano was that his favorite, _lucky_ pants were now shrunken into something that resembled clam-diggers. He had tried to wash them yesterday, and _something_ had gone terribly wrong. But they were his lucky pants so he wore them anyway, white with black and coming just below his calf. 

Nobody at school particularly liked Sano; he was a bit of bully and was sooner to solve problems with his fists than with his words. The way he saw it though he was a spider; he only bullied the bullies and never hit girls (not that he ever even gave much thought to girls). He was a good bad guy: an oxymoron.

Another advantage of being feared at school was that even if you did something completely stupid (like shrinking your pants and then wearing them anyway) nobody would say word of how dumb you looked. At least not to his face, though behind his back they were probably snickering. Snickering as they walked down the hall and in the bathroom about how stupid Sagara's pants looked.

Sano glared at a passing lower classmen and the kid rushed off, as though scalded with hot water. This appeased Sano's growing insecurity for the moment and he leaned back against the wall of his first class, and he almost wished for a cigarette. 

Almost.

He closed his eyes and waited. Sometimes he had no idea at all why he came to school, it was something to do anyway. Something to define his life, but he hated every single second of his day spent here. Maybe he'd ditch. 

Tomorrow; tomorrow he'd ditch. Or so he told himself, but he'd told himself the same thing every day of the week the last two years, yet here he was.

"Excuse me." A mellow voice pulled Sano out of his thoughts. He wrenched his eyes open only to see the top of head covered in thick red hair tied back into a tail. Sano's looked further down and found himself looking into violently purple eyes, a soft smile was on the boy's face. 

Sano wasn't sure whether to be shocked or not. "You new or somethin'?" was what he said, crossing his arms across his chest.

The boy ducked his head, hair flailing around his face and nodded. Sano noticed for the first time he had a cross-shaped scar running along one cheek, it looked like an old wound. "Yes, that I am. I was having trouble finding my classroom…" the boy said, startling Sano for a second time.

"Huh? Oh. Well, what classroom is it?" Sano asked after a few seconds, when the words finally sank in. The boy told him, and Sano was a bit disappointed that it was not his classroom but the one across the hall. 

He had wanted to ask about the scar. Instead he nodded his chin across the hall and through the throng of milling students. "It's just over there," Sano said, tucking a few fingers into his brown hair.

"Thank you very much," said the boy, bowing again. "I'm Kenshin Himura."

"Sanosuke Sagara," Sano answered, inclining his head but only a little. The boy smiled at him.

"Thank you, Sanosuke," he said, startling Sano for the third time that day. "I like your pants."

Sano never got a chance to find out if the boy was serious or not because his first teacher of day arrived and opened the classroom door, and when Sano looked back Kenshin was gone.

~*~*~

Sano's day seemed a little brighter after the encounter. He wondered if perhaps he could find Kenshin during lunch and talk to the boy some more. Then he idly worried, as his second teacher of the day rambled on about something, that by then perhaps someone would have mentioned his reputation to Kenshin and he wouldn't want to talk to Sano at all.

His worrying was just getting into to full gear when something wet was flicked at his ear. He spun around and found a grinning Sawagejou Chou. If Sano was a spider, Chou was definitely a cockroach. Or maybe a praying mantis. 

"What?" Sano growled angrily, wanting to get back to his worrying (so he could assure himself that there was no reason to be _worrying_). His stomach felt like it had a hole in it. 

Chou grinned even wider, his mouth two big crooked lines. "Nice pants ya got there, tori-atama."

Sano didn't have to wonder if Chou was being sarcastic or not. His scowl deepened. Chou happened to be one of the few people that felt quite comfortable with teasing the hell out of Sano.

"Just leave me alone, all right? I'm not in the mood," Sano said, trying to be calm. He turned back towards the front of the room and tried to listen to his teacher; he wasn't even sure what class it was anymore.

"Pssst."

Sano was going to ignore this. He knew that if he got into trouble right now that it was late enough for him to be spending lunch period in the Principal's Office, and if that happened there was no way he'd get to see Kenshin. His stomach gave a funny little leap.

"Pssst."

Perhaps Sano had been wrong, maybe Chou was a mosquito. But spiders ate mosquitoes without second thought, and Sano wasn't sure that he wouldn't be the one to be digested. He gritted his teeth and thought of Kenshin's red hair catching the fluorescent lighting of the hallway; he wondered what it'd look like in the sunlight.

"Pssst."

Something incredibly mushy, thick and wet hit Sano's neck and slid down his thin black t-shirt. He stood up instinctively, and the slimy glob slid down his spine and splattered to the floor with a loud, wet sound. Chou instantly became the target of his glare. The other was grinning widely.

"Something the matter, Sagara-kun?" the teacher said from the front the class, Sano always sat near the back. Her voice was steely and her eyes were boring into Sano's back. He couldn't bring himself to care.

Chou got a full right hook to the mouth. His blood sprayed onto Sano's cheek. "Sagara!" the teacher yelled with a little gasp, she came rushing back towards them. Chou was blinking in shock.

"Go to the office this second!" the teacher yelled, shoving Sano lightly towards the door, and kneeling beside Chou. "I'll call before you get there."

Sano didn't look back at Chou who was still blinking in shock, only walked towards the door, eyes' of his classmates following him all the way. No one dared say anything; obviously Sano had finally lost it. 

The day felt much, much darker when Sano stepped into the hall. His pants felt stupid all over again.

~*~*~

Kenshin stepped out of his last class before lunch smiling slightly to himself. Things had gone much better than he had thought they would.  In fact, he quite happy with how the day had progressed and was even starting to feel comfortable in his new position. 

Letting the students rush past him, Kenshin decided he'd go and see Saito to see if the man would possibly like to dine with him so they could catch up a bit. When he'd first met Saito, they'd been bitter rivals. But gradually they'd become allies and perhaps even friends.

He made his way to the school office for the second time that day, as Saito was school principal. When he entered, the receptionist, a pretty girl with blue-black hair who seemed barely out of high school herself, gave him a wave and a bright smile. Kenshin wished he had remembered her name, he knew it started with a 'K'…

"Hello," he said, promising to find out her name tomorrow. She blushed little and returned the greeting. Kenshin continued walking back towards Saito's office.

He was quite surprised to see a familiar face sitting on what seemed a very uncomfortable chair just beside the door, which was closed. He walked over to the boy who had directed him towards his first classroom of the day, and smiled quizzically at him. 

Sanosuke. He remembered after a moment's thought. As Kenshin came closer, however, he saw the boy had a splatter of drying blood across his face and a dark look about him. His eyes were closed, and his arms were twisted across his chest. Dark-brown hair fell prettily against his forehead.

"Hello?" he tried quietly, wanting to make sure the boy was all right. Sanosuke's eyes flapped open instantly, they lit up in surprise and the boy nearly smiled.

"Kenshin!" he exclaimed, then said in a much more subdued tone, "I mean, uh, hi."

Kenshin smiled at him, laughter in his eyes. "Hello, Sanosuke."

"You can call me Sano," the boy said simply, leaning forward so that his elbow rested on his knee. "Hey, what are you doing here? Did you get into trouble?"

The teacher fought hard against his grin somehow he came out victorious. "Actually, I'm…"

But Kenshin didn't get to finish, because the office door swung open and an angered looking Saito stood at the threshold. He glared straight at Sano, and Kenshin couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It wasn't all that long ago that same glare had been directed at _him_.

"Get in here, Sagara," Saito said, somehow the calm in his voice was terror inducing. Sano stood up and seemed to swallow a lump in his throat. Kenshin smiled encouragingly at him when Saito wasn't looking.

Sano slipped past Saito into the intimidating office, after giving a passive thumbs up to Kenshin. Saito set his gaze on Kenshin but softened it. A little bit anyways.

"I'll deal with you a minute, Himura."

Kenshin nodded, and sat down in the chair. His previous observation had been quite right. The chair poked painfully at his spine.

~*~*~

"What's the meaning of this, Sagara?"

Sano braced himself for the coming reprimand; he sat in the chair opposite Hajime Saito's desk. He had become very intimate with this particular chair, with all the times he'd found himself sitting in it. The chair still remained decidedly lumpy and uncomfortable, however.

Saito sat down, and pulled out a cigarette he lit it and carefully and smoked it exactly how Sano had always wanted to smoke a cigarette. Sano looked away, at his exposed calves.

"Punching another student, in class no less," Saito remarked, tapping the ashes of his cigarette away. 

Sano stayed silent. Saito leaned forward and looked very closely at Sano. He puffed his cigarette. "Nothing to say for yourself?"

"No," Sano said, and after a meaningful glare he added, "Sir." 

 "Hm. Two weeks detention, Sagara. I'll also be calling your mother. If this happens again…" Saito said, but was interrupted.

"Yeah, I know. I'm outta here," Sano interjected, leaning back against the chair. It protested with a loud groan.

"If you know so well, Sagara, I should hear no complaints when it happens," Saito said, tapping his cigarette again. 

Sano pushed his hair away from his eyes. "It isn't going to happen."

The principal made no reply to his, simply inhaled deeply against his cigarette and looked over Sano very carefully. "You may go. You'll receive notification of your detention later."

Sano stood, relief sweeping over him. He thought for sure he was going to be thrown out of the school this time. Just as he reached the door, Saito's voice stopped him.

"Do be sure to get that blood off your face."

Sano left the room, scrubbing at his cheek with a cold palm.

~*~*~

Kenshin tried to get comfortable in the chair. It seemed an impossibly task, and Kenshin knew Saito had chosen the chair for it's discomfort. He, for one, never wanted to have to sit in this chair again.

A giggle stopped his minute, comfort-seeking wiggling. He glanced around and found himself looking at the receptionist. Kenshin wondered how long she'd been there. "Oh, hello there."

She smiled at him. "Hi. Would you like a cushion or something Himura-san?"

Kenshin smiled at her thoughtfulness. "No, thank you. I'll be fine."

She giggled again and walked back to her desk. Kenshin made another mental note to be sure and find out her name. He finally settled into the chair, back straight and hands resting in his lap.

The door opened silently beside Kenshin, Sano stepped out rubbing at his blood-spattered cheek. The boy looked a bit shaken. "Are you all right, Sano?"

Sano blinked, and let his hand drop. The blood was still there. "Yeah. Just detention. Hey, Kenshin, watch out for Saito, he's a real wolf."

Kenshin smiled at this and mentally agreed. Said wolf stood at the door now, he glared Sano who gave a brief wave at Kenshin then rushed off. "Himura."

"Hello, Saito," Kenshin said rising from the torture chair. Saito stood back from the door and allowed Kenshin to enter.

Needless to say, Kenshin was a little disappointed when he found the inner office chair just as uncomfortable as the one outside. He resisted squirming.

Saito slipped in after him and closed the door. At his desk he lit another cigarette, and looked amiably (as amiable as Saito could look, anyway) at Kenshin. "I see you've met Sagara."

"Sano. Yes, that I have," Kenshin answered nodding.

"That boy is pure trouble," Saito said.

Kenshin smiled in answer.

"He's a fool too. Watch out for him, he's in your last class of the day," Saito remarked. Kenshin noticed the bangs hanging in Saito's eyes did not at all dampen the instensity of his gaze.

"He didn't seem that bad, that he didn't."

"That's what he'd like you to think, Himura." A thought came to Saito then, he tapped his cigarette and ashes fell from it like rain. His eyes were shining "Perhaps you'd like to supervise his detention."

Kenshin was no fool; he folded his hands gently in his lap. "What would that mean exactly?"

Saito smiled softly. He explained what Kenshin would have to do, Kenshin listened intently and Saito knew that he was anxious to help the poor, _troubled_ boy.

"All right, Saito," Kenshin said, ending Saito's rant on how much help a little mentoring could be. Kenshin might not have been aware of Saito's ulterior motives, but he would find them out sooner or later. 

Plus wanted to help Sano. He felt strangely drawn to the tall youth.

~*~*~

Sano was back in class. Chou, much to his approval, was not. The rest of the students in his class seemed to move around him, as though he weren't there. He didn't really mind, it wasn't much worse than how they usually acted around him.

More so, he had Kenshin on his mind and didn't really notice the difference in his classmates' behavior. He thought of the boy's red hair, and how it would look if it were falling freely against his back and shoulders.

Sano was sure it would be soft. He imagined it would be like running a silk sheet through his hands. Once, when Sano was little his mother had taken him to a department store, they had had silk scarves. He'd never forgotten the feeling of them against his fingers.

He thought then of how old Kenshin might be. Younger than me, Sano thought thinking of the class across the hall. Maybe he'd wait outside the door and say goodbye to Kenshin and meet him in the morning.

Sano sighed and tried to think of something besides Kenshin. He was entirely unsuccessful. What was it about Kenshin that had captured his thoughts so completely?

Just as he had began to mull this out, a familiar, mellow voice sent his thoughts fleeing from his head. He looked up to the front of the room only to see Kenshin Himura standing there, smiling softly at the class.

Sano thought perhaps he'd transferred rooms. But then why wasn't Kenshin sitting down? He tried to catch the other's eye. "Kenshin," he said under his breath. But still the boy stood there.

"Hello, class," Kenshin said setting a case on to the teacher's desk. Sano tried to think what he could possibly be doing. Hadn't he had enough of Saito? "I'm your new History teacher, Kenshin Himura."

In neat kanji he wrote his name on the white board. "Let's get started."

Sano's heart fell past his stomach and down through his toes all the way to the floor. He did not hear a word Kenshin said to the class, who seemed to like the new teacher very much, but instead concentrated on the way the sun flitting through the half closed blinds danced on Kenshin's hair.

The light seemed drawn to the vibrant red strands. Sano knew exactly how the light felt. He let the image of the sun dancing on Kenshin's hair burn into his mind.

Kenshin was a teacher. Which meant that he was older than Sano, much older. Sano dwelled on this for a minute, then let his mind wander to bright, sparkling red.

Suddenly he was aware of everyone around him standing up. Sano stood too, half blinded by gleaming red hair. He moved towards the door, but was halted by a small, strong, hand on his shoulder.

"Sano, I'd like word," Kenshin said. Sano didn't really hear him, his heart still lost somewhere in the floorboards and his eyes still seeing red. He nodded anyway and stopped walking. He decided Kenshin's smile was just as blinding as his hair. 

Sano didn't hear a word that past through Kenshin's mouth. He agreed to everything anyway.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tori-atama: Chicken head (or chicken brain, or chicken hair)

I apologize for the somewhat Americanized school, it fits the story though so I'm claiming artistic license and running with it. Sorry if it bothers you! Thanks for reading.


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